Top 15 rising juniors in Gibson County for the 2024-25 school year

By Michael Odom | July 16, 2024 |

South Gibson Tommy Baker (23) catches the ball at second base against Munford during a high school baseball game at South Gibson on April 13, 2024.

As we have started to look at the 2024-25 school year, the top returning seniors were featured last week.

This week, we look at the top returning juniors across Gibson County.

1. Tommy Baker (South Gibson baseball) – Baker was named the 2024 All-Gibson County baseball player of the year as a sophomore as he helped the Hornets to the Class 3A state tournament for the third straight season. Last season, he batted .432 with 54 hits, 12 doubles, 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 54 runs and 23 stolen bases.

2. Cade Allen (South Gibson baseball) – Allen played last fall with the 15U USA National Team, and then helped the Hornets finish in the top six of the Class 3A state tournament. He went 8-3 in 59.1 innings pitched as he struck out 85 with a 1.19 ERA. Opposing batters held a .126 average against him.

3. Jaydon Peete (Milan football) – Peete was named the 2023 All-Gibson County football player of the year as he helped Milan to a 9-3 record in reaching the Class 2A second round. Defensively, Peete recorded 118 total tackles with 24 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also blocked four punts and returned a punt for a touchdown. Offensively, he rushed the ball 78 times for 778 yards and 13 touchdowns.

4. Sania Reaves (Gibson County volleyball, girls basketball) – Reaves had her best athletic year in 2023-24 as she helped the volleyball team reach the Class A state tournament for the second straight season and the basketball team win the Class 2A state championship. In volleyball, she had 373 kills and 93 blocks playing in the middle of the net. In basketball, she averaged 8.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals, as she shot 42.4 percent from the field.

5. Mia Pearson (Milan volleyball) – Pearson turned into one of the Lady Bulldogs’ top attackers as she helped them reach the Class A state tournament for the first time. She finished the season with 218 kills, 196 digs and 32 aces.

6. Karson Dunn (South Gibson girls basketball) – Dunn played point guard for the Lady Hornets last season as they reached the Class 3A state semifinals. She averaged 10.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals, while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.

7. Jonathan Lewis (South Gibson boys cross country) – Lewis was named the 2023 All-Gibson County boys cross country runner of the year. He finished second in the region with a time of 16:32.96 and 14th in the state with a time of 16:39.85.

8. Will Johnson (Milan football) – Johnson took on a bigger role last season for the football and baseball team. On the football field, he took over at quarterback for the Bulldogs and led them to the second round of the Class 2A playoffs as he completed 86-of-140 passes for 1,385 yards to go with 220 yards rushing with a total of 20 touchdowns.

9. Lilly Autry (Milan volleyball) – Autry completes the two-headed outside attack for the Lady Bulldogs that helped them to the Class A state tournament. Last season, she finished with 232 kills and 62 digs.

10. Cade Beaver (South Gibson football) – Beaver broke his collarbone and didn’t get to finish the basketball season, but he is turning into a star on the football field as he helped the Hornets to a second-place finish in Region 6-4A. He finished with 91 total tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss, one interception and two pass break-ups to go along with his 569 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns.

11. Koen Thomas (South Gibson boys basketball) – Thomas had a breakout season last year as the Hornets reached the Region 7-3A quarterfinals. He averaged nine points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals.

12. A’Kira Riding (Gibson County girls basketball) – Riding played guard for the Lady Pioneers as they won the 2024 Class 2A state championship. She averaged 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.4 steals while shooting 49 percent from the field.

13. Annie Whittemore (South Gibson softball) – Whittemore helped the Lady Hornets reach the Class 3A state tournament last season. She batted .426 with 30 RBI, seven doubles, three triples and only three strikeouts all season.

14. Cara Copous (Bradford softball) – Copious pitched every game for the Lady Red Devils last season and led them to the Region 7-1A semifinals. She won 11 games in the circle with 113 strikeouts and a 0.833 fielding percentage to go with a .382 batting average.

15. Jax Richardson (Bradford basketball) – Richardson had strong seasons last year on the basketball court and baseball fields. He helped the basketball team to nine wins as he averaged 13.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 steals, while shooting 33.1 percent from 3-point range.